Day 65: Sun Room

[fallenbeanpole]

His nurse had whisked him away from breakfast as soon as the intercom’s voice faded.  Surprisingly, she didn’t take him to the shower rooms, instead bringing him to the Sun Room (as she called it), explaining that since this was his first day he would be allowed to skip the showers.  Besides, it would be good to let his injuries heal a little more.

 

He’d passed through this room on the way to breakfast, but hadn’t really paid much attention to it the first time.  Now that he was standing here, the Once-ler understood why it was called the Sun Room.

 

Despite the fact that it was cloudy outside, there was still far more natural light coming in through the ceiling windows than he had seen in a long time.  The Once-ler stood still for a few moments, simply staring up.  It seemed almost like a dream, really.  The valley never got brighter than twilight, even at noon.  There was too much smog in the air to let any more light through.

 

After a few minutes, he shook his head.  Anybody who saw him just standing in the middle of the room would probably have questions about it, and he did not relish the thought of explaining himself to a stranger.  He glanced around the room itself, spotting the bulletin board Soma had talked about during breakfast.  The Once-ler decided that was a good place to start, and hobbled on over to get a closer look.

 

[For Nina, I believe?]

Comments

[purgatio]

There were mixed emotions in the white-haired Variant.

The first, held to prominence, was to check on his sibling. Nigredo, uncharacteristically or simply holding to an older characteristic instead, was still sleeping, and it took some mental prodding from Albedo to get a response. Enough of one for the boy to determine his brother's health and state, and Albedo let Nigredo fall back to sleep after promising to meet up later on.

And that, as they say, was that. The other things were a mixed and myriad bag--the presence of Yomi, Nigredo's constant jaunts to the basement, Landel's sweet little deal.... A bit too much to be thought about now, at least, and Albedo, with no brother to say otherwise, fell to the apathy he had held the night before. The sun room was as far as he would go, and he settled into a couch by himself. Everything was put on hold until he could see Nigredo, and even if he understood that was a weakness of self, there was very little he would do about it. Again, too much had happened. He would hold to the one constant in his life before moving forward.

[ Klavier! ]

[rocksthecourt]

[from here]

As predicted, he did indeed feel better by the time he entered the Sun Room. Amazing how a short shower could have such an effect. It was like cleaned everything away and was starting the day again with a blank slate. That was probably a good thing since it was about time he checked the bulletin and tried to determine what exactly he'd missed last night. Hopefully he wouldn't find another shattering list of familiar names who had gone missing (though he had to steel himself for that possibility).

The most interesting thing he found, and one he saw mentioned several times, actually turned out to be something about a drawing found as a result of a "scavenger hunt". He was going to guess that had something to do with those radio announcements that came up every now and then. The origins and contents of which were dubious in their trustworthiness, might he add. People were being vague about it, but Klavier couldn't say he liked the direction the interpretation of this picture looked to be going. Especially with a sudden call for surgeons.

He wasn't going to respond to all this immediately. He needed to process it first and consider the details on his own before making any objections or stating any theories. Unlike these people (and certain defense attorneys), he'd prefer to at least think a little before jumping to conclusions. Klavier pulled away from the bulletin board, opening his notebook up and trying to duplicate the picture as best as he could before he forgot the details. Not that it was terribly complicated, but one could never be sure if something small would become relevant later. That was usually the case, it felt like.

As he moved away from the board and deeper into the room, an unfortunately familiar face could be seen lingering on the closest couch. He wasn't speaking to anyone; simply sitting there with an indeterminable expression. ...There was something morbidly nostalgic in this. It reminded Klavier of the first time he came across this child in this very room... it may even have been the same couch. That was one among many reasons why approaching to get closer than he already was seemed like a bad idea.

His feelings regarding Albedo were a bit more complicated than he really wanted to admit. Especially after that fiasco in the coliseum recently. Not that there was any question in the fact that he truly liked nothing about this child, and it could even be said that he hated him. But there were broader details to be considered outside his own personal feelings.

Right now, he wasn't sure what to make of Albedo's expression. As usual, it was difficult for Klavier to accurately read him in any capacity. However, considering the foul mood most people were in today and what had been happening recently, seeing Albedo sitting alone with an empty face probably didn't bode very well. If he ignored the twisting in the pit of his stomach and all personal history, it could be said he actually wanted to talk to Albedo about some things to a certain extent. But again, approaching and feigning a greeting with this one didn't seem like a good idea as it might with others.

So, Klavier simply shifted his path a little, paused in his steps when he was a yard or so away from the couch... and just looked at him. It's not like he was in a position where he could avoid Albedo seeing him anyway, even if he'd wanted to turn and run off the opposite way. So there was no point in doing so. He said nothing for now. The blank, serious, evaluative stare he gave the child was "greeting" enough.

[purgatio]

And here was a man he would rather not see. Perhaps Klavier thought himself discrete, standing silently like a breathing statue, or perhaps he was just waiting for Albedo to prompt him so the man could continue his long-standing beratement of Albedo's existence. The child wasn't in the mood for either, and if he could force himself to movement, he would have just stood up and walked away. However, that was a kind of giving up and giving in, and to a human like Klavier, of all people, that just could not be done.

Still, Albedo let the man stand there for a while. Enough that it was obvious that, of course, Albedo knew he was there, and no, he wasn't planning on doing anything about it. Eventually the boy lifted his eyes and nothing more, swallowing the reactive snort at seeing the man's 'serious' face. As if a puppy could be intimidating. As if something beneath you could invoke any kind of respect. "Is there something you want, or are you just gaining a further infatuation with me, Klavier?"

The man's name said sociably. As if Albedo had ever used it so commonly before. It was a warning in itself, one he wouldn't again repeat. If the man furthered his agenda of distancing the brothers, Albedo would not stay his hand again-- Nigredo's will or no.